A part time woman Police Inspector has won a claim for equal pay against the Metropolitan Police because of their refusal to pay her for the hours she worked in addition to her part time hours.
Full-time inspectors are paid for 40 hours a week but do not receive overtime payments when they work over 40 hours. Inspector Claire Clark, from Kensington and Chelsea Borough, worked part time (32 hours per week) between September 2006 and April 2009, but she often worked additional hours over that period. She was paid for 32 hours per week, even in weeks where she worked longer hours.
This meant that if she and a full-time Inspector both worked the same number of hours in excess of 32 hours, the full-time Inspector received a higher hourly rate of pay. The Court identified that this was sex discrimination because the overwhelming majority (96%) of part-time inspectors serving in the Metropolitan Police were women, whilst the overwhelming majority (86%) of full-time Inspectors were men.
The Court also said that this was contrary to Police Regulations which govern the payment of full and part-time police officers.
Ian Rennie, General Secretary of the Police Federation, which supported Claire Clark’s case said: “It is really disappointing that this case has had to go before the Court. Police officers do not get a choice of whether to work additional hours. They must work as and when directed. The vast majority of part time officers are women with childcare commitments who are trying to maintain their police career. We are pleased that the Court has recognised that this underpayment was not only unfair but unlawful discrimination against women officers”.